Coaching Hot Board: NFL candidate

Read on to learn about an NFL candidate who CanesTime's Mike Bakas really likes.

One guy I'd like to see UM make a run at is Teryl Austin, the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions.

He was on the staff at Syracuse the year the Orangemen came into the Orange Bowl and beat UM by 40+ back in 1998.

He was on Michigan's staff for a few years after that, which included an Orange Bowl and a few other bowl wins.

His next 3 stops were in the NFL and all 3 included Super Bowl appearances -- Seattle in 2006, Arizona in 2008, and Baltimore in 2012.

In between those stops he was Urban's DC at Florida in 2010, and they finished with a Top 10 defense.

He became the DC with the Lions in 2014 and took them from 18th overall to 2nd overall (behind only Seattle). They've had all kinds of problems on both sides of the ball this season but he's still considered an elite coach, and has been successful everywhere he's been.

Ed Reed credits him as one of the best coaches he's ever had. He understands the college game, and should understand the culture here. He's worked under coaches like Urban Meyer and John Harbaugh.

Here is what NFL.com wrote about him this past offseason:
"Given Austin's experience and exposure to multiple schemes during his time as a highly regarded secondary coach (Austin learned hybrid 3-4 schemes under Ray Rhodes in Seattle and Dean Pees in Baltimore), as well as his superb communication skills and teaching ability, it is not surprising he is already regarded as a top head-coaching candidate heading into the season."

One thing that could potentially prevent this is that he may be up for some NFL HC jobs in the offseason.

To me, this is a lot like when Butch took over for UM back in 1995 after being the Cowboys DC.